Vehicle seating assemblies are typically designed to provide a minimum functionality for supporting driver and passengers. They normally include a base or seat portion on which a person sits and a back rest or seat back. The seat portion is generally formed by a frame which is mounted to the floor of the vehicle, such as an automobile. The mounting structure generally permits movement of the seat relative to the vehicle, i.e. in forward and rearward directions, typically when adjusted to a desired position by the user.
The seat back also is generally formed by a frame which extends vertically upwardly from the rear part of the base. The seat back typically is pivotally mounted with respect to the base. This enables the seat back to recline with respect to the base. Conventional locking and adjusting devices permit the seat back to be set with respect to the seat base at any of a number of angular positions. Adjustment of the seat, particularly adjustment of the seat back, while enhancing the comfort of the occupant, reduces the area lying behind the seat, i.e., leg area for the back seat. Even seating assemblies comprising a unitary frame reduce the amount of room in the back seat area when the seat is pivoted to a reclining position. This is undesirable, especially when that area is necessary to accommodate passengers, such as in an automobile.
In known seating assemblies, both the seat portion and the back portion are generally covered by cushions constructed of foam or the like. The cushions typically include some form of covering over the foam. Conventional coverings include leather, plastic and the like. These coverings, however, are highly susceptible to ripping, tearing or puncturing under applied stress. A more rugged and durable seat covering is thus desirable.
The back and seat cushions are usually attached to the respective frame portions. The cushions, particularly the seat cushions, are often supported by a suspension system secured to, or within, the seat frame comprising springs or the like. Seat and back rest cushions in the form of woven mats are also known. See Abu-Isa, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,554 issued Sep. 26, 1989. Seat web configurations have been used in other types of seating assemblies. See, Wachsmann, U.S. Pat. No. 3,708,204 issued Jan. 2, 1973; Morrison, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,640,576 issued Feb. 8, 1972. None of these seating assemblies, however, provides a durable suspension system which possesses high structural integrity and low probability of failure when subjected to repeated use.
Other vehicle seating assemblies are also known. For example, a pedestal seating assembly including a base shell, a back support plate, a back shell and seat and back cushions is disclosed in Bayley, U.S. Pat. No. 4,580,837 issued Apr. 8, 1986. Saives, U.S. Pat. No. 2,085,475 issued Jun. 29, 1937 discloses a seating assembly having a unitary frame. Seating assemblies formed of a fiberglass shell and seat and back insert panels for use in a transit motor vehicle are also known. Barecki, U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,978 issued Jul. 24, 1973.
Seating assemblies used in motor vehicles are often subjected to hostile environments causing excessive wear and ultimate failure. For example, automobile seats on the driver's side tend to be highly susceptible to wear, and often wear out before the automobile does. This is in large part due to repeated compression and decompression of the cushion material and/or suspension system. Excessive wear is likely, especially in cases where the driver must get in and out of the vehicle often. Conventional seating assemblies provide no means to prevent this problem at its inception or to ameliorate the problem after wear is observed.
Moreover, conventional types of seating assemblies do not provide a suitable seating assembly for motor vehicles used by persons who carry items on their belts, such as police officers. Police officers, in particular, wear a gun belt which typically carries a holster and gun. Additional items such as flashlights, bullets, etc. may also be attached to the belt. Police officers do not, and as a practical matter cannot, remove their belts and/or many of the attached items while riding in a police vehicle. This is because they may need items which they carry on their belts, such as their guns, instantaneously while inside the vehicle. Moreover, police officers often need to exit their vehicles quickly and be prepared to use the items which they carry on their belts. Therefore, they cannot afford to take the time, or the chance, to be caught inside or outside of their vehicle without their belts.
However, as noted above, conventional seating assemblies for motor vehicles do not accommodate a police officer's belt, or the items which a police officer usually carries on his belt. Thus, police officers must either sit uncomfortably in their police vehicles, or take off their belts and perhaps risk their lives and the lives of others. It thus would be desirable to have a seating assembly for motor vehicles which would accommodate a police officer's belt and the items carried on the belt.
Additionally, police officers often need additional protection, such as from gunshots, knives or the like, when they are seated in their vehicles or are in close proximity to their vehicles. While Hauck, U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,620 issued Jun. 1, 1971 discloses a laminar seat structure for aircraft which provides the pilot with more freedom to fly the ship while receiving the benefit of full protection from small-arms fire, which the pilot might otherwise be exposed to, conventional seating assemblies for motor vehicles do not provide this type of protection.
It would therefore, be desirable to provide a seating assembly which overcomes the foregoing disadvantages.